Williams sisters Serena (right) and Venus in action during their doubles match against Spain's Anabel Medina Garrigues and Virginia Ruano Pascual at Wimbledon, yesterday. - AP
WIMBLEDON, England (AP):
Second-seeded Jelena Jankovic and No. 4 Svetlana Kuznetsova were ousted in the fourth round yesterday, leaving Wimbledon without any of the top four women in the quarter-finals for the first time.
A hobbled Jankovic fell 6-3, 6-2 to Tamarine Tanasugarn, while 2004 US Open champion Kuznetsova lost 6-4, 1-6, 7-5 to 19-year-old Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland.
With top-seeded Ana Ivanovic and No. 3 Maria Sharapova eliminated last week, none of the top four women reached the quarter-finals - the first time that's happened at Wimbledon and also the first time at any Grand Slam tournament in the 40-year history of the Open era.
The highest seeded player left is No. 5 Elena Dementieva, who cruised to a 6-2, 6-1 win over Shahar Peer.
Closer to final
The Williams sisters, meanwhile, moved closer to another Wimbledon final with back-to-back victories on Court 2 - nicknamed the 'Graveyard of Champions' for its history of upsets.
They questioned why they weren't put on Centre Court or Court 1.
Defending champion Venus Williams beat Russian teenager Alisa Kleybanova 6-3, 6-4, while two-time winner Serena downed Bethanie Mattek - the only other American left in the men's or women's draw - 6-3, 6-3.
"It wasn't what I would have liked to see," Serena Williams said of the Court 2 scheduling. "Initially, I thought, 'Is this the right schedule?' I thought maybe there was a mistake. But I can't dwell on that. I just have to focus on doing the best that I can whether I'm on Court 2 or Court 20."
Venus, who will face Tanasugarn in the quarters, was clearly not happy with the court scheduling.
"There's not too much I'm going to say about that in the press," she said. "I think that no matter where we play we realize we have to play well. That's pretty much all I have to say."
Her father, Richard Williams, didn't hold back.
"Venus is a four-time champion, defending champion," he said. "They're not putting Roger Federer out there (on Court 2). If they're not putting Roger Federer out there, they shouldn't put Venus out there. I think it's ridiculous. I think it's a damn shame."
Extended winning streak
In men's play, five-time champion Roger Federer swept Lleyton Hewitt - the last man to win the title before him - 7-6 (7), 6-2, 6-4 on Centre Court to extend his winning streak on grass to 63 matches and 38 in a row at the All England Club.
Federer will next face the last player to beat him on grass and at Wimbledon - Croatian Mario Ancic, who won in the first round in 2002. Ancic came from two sets down yesterday to beat Fernando Verdasco 3-6, 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, 13-11. The final set alone lasted one hour and 35 minutes.
No. 2-ranked Rafael Nadal, runner-up to Federer the last two years, overcame an injury scare in the second game of the match and beat Mikhail Youzhny 6-3, 6-3, 6-1.
Nadal slipped on the worn turf behind the baseline on Court 1 while stretching to hit a forehand, with his right leg bending awkwardly. After losing the point, he took a medical timeout and a trainer wrapped his leg below the knee. The Spaniard lost the next point and the game, but showed no sign of trouble and dominated the rest of the way.
"I felt a little bit of pain," the four-time French Open champion said. "I was a little bit scared. I felt something crack a little behind (the knee). But I think it's fine."
No. 10-seeded Marcos Baghdatis, a semi-finalist in 2006 and quarter-finalist last year, squandered three match points in the fifth set. The Cypriot lost 5-7, 6-2, 3-6, 7-6 (4), 8-6 to Feliciano Lopez. The Spaniard, down 0-40 at 4-5, came up with big serves on all three points to avoid defeat.
"He just went for it with guts and he took the game," Baghdatis said. "Good for him."
Five games in a row
Also advancing was Chinese wild-card entry Zheng Jie, who followed up her upset of Ivanovic last week to beat 19-year-old Hungarian Agnes Szavay 6-3, 6-4. Zheng was down 4-1 in the second set and then won five games in a row before securing her first Grand Slam quarter-final berth.
Other women's winners were Nicole Vaidisova, who downed No. 8 Anna Chakvetadze 4-6, 7-6 (0), 6-3; and Nadia Petrova, a 6-1, 6-4 victor over Alla Kudryavtseva, who had beaten Sharapova in the second round.
